VIENNA.- Jeremy Shaw’s work constitutes an ongoing exploration of altered states of mind and the cultural and scientific practices that aspire to map transcendental experience. Often positioned at the intersection of metaphysics and spirituality, his works are captivated by phenomena that defy rational explanation – from the personal drive of mystical experiences to the promise of technological singularity — and the belief systems that evolve in their pursuit. Shaw’s films, installations, and sculptures construct worlds that combine the asserted rationality and objectivity of scientific research with fiction, speculation, and disparate cultural and aesthetic references, creating what he refers to as “assisted vérité”. Mining the frameworks of philosophy, anthropology, and sociology, his multivalent practice draws upon the languages of alternative cultures, documentary image-making, conceptual art, and music video to create alchemical works that exist somewhat out of time.


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The exhibition Towards Logarithmic Delay presents three new sculptural works that engage with the concept of border zones and the disorientation brought about by the dissolution of spatial and perceptual thresholds. The first work visitors encounter, Maximum Horizon (2024), comprises a triptych of stained-glass windows – akin to those commonly seen in churches and other places of worship – that are set into one of a number of a raw, unfinished drywalls that reappear throughout the exhibition. The composition consists of lead lines tapering towards the centre of the middle window and colour fields of handblown glass that shift from yellow to orange to red and, finally, to black. The design delineates a rapidly approaching – yet never arriving – borderline that recalls the centripetal vortices prevalent in science-fiction films and television shows as well as early videogame graphics. Fusing the majesty of religious iconography with pop-cultural depictions of digital horizons, Maximum Horizon merges sacred and profane elements to imagine the potential of modern, technologically driven belief systems and their aspirations of infinity.


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In contrast to the “looking beyond” explicitly invoked by Maximum Horizon, the work The Distance Between Infinite Folds Is Still You (2025) focuses on a spatial anomaly that exists on both a physical and a conceptual level: in this case, a delicate triangular sculpture created out of three scientific flame-worked glasses. As an attempt to map a 4-D concept in three dimensions, these fused “Klein bottles” constitute an example of a non-orientable surface, a form whose inside and outside surfaces are supplanted by a singular side on which normal vectors continuously shift across vertical and horizontal planes. The inner base of each glass chamber is coated with the residue of vaporized dimethyltryptamine, or DMT, a substance on which Shaw previously based a 2004 video installation. Known for its extreme psychedelic effects, DMT commonly elicits an experience likened to that of quantum space that unfolds towards an almost kaleidoscopic infinity. Its presence in the sculpture further amplifies both the fantastic potentials of multiversal realms and the fraught nature of their representation in our current reality.

In the final room, visitors encounter Devotion Structure (Accumulated) (2025), a steel votive stand housing 247 red handblown glass candleholders. Arranged in a grid, they contain wax LED candles, some of which are flickering at random intervals, accompanied by the faint scent of burning paraffin wax. After a while, the quiet sound of clinking glass can be heard as the flickering becomes more widespread. The synthetic flames slowly coalesce into a single-point perspective vortex animation that engulfs the grid, accompanied by synchronized pulsing sounds from within. The animated wormhole accelerates and spins towards a feverish, surround-sound crescendo, manifesting the hypnotic dramaturgy of prayer, piety, and devotion in an interplay of light, shadow, movement, and sound. Perhaps one has finally arrived at an event horizon of sorts, even if it is located at the end of an ordinary gallery room.

Jeremy Shaw was born in North Vancouver (BC), Canada, in 1977. He lives in Berlin, Germany.

Programmed by the board of the Secession

Curated by Damian Lentini



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